


Acceptable Losses

by Melime



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Adoribull Prompt Sunday, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Dragon Age Quest: Demands of the Qun (Inquisition), M/M, Sad Ending, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-19 12:02:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4745627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melime/pseuds/Melime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The deaths of a few mercenaries seemed like a reasonable price to pay for an alliance with such a powerful force.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Acceptable Losses

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theladylily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theladylily/gifts).
  * Translation into Português brasileiro available: [Perdas Aceitáveis](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4745660) by [Melime GreenLeaf (Melime)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melime/pseuds/Melime%20GreenLeaf)



> Written for the prompt "Adoribull Sunday Prompt – Sad Adoribull – Dalish gets sick before going to the Storm Coast, and since is not going to Storm Coast with the Inquisitor and he has grown fond of the Charges, so Dorian offers to take her place and assist them, without Bull and the Inquisitor knowing." sent by theladylily.  
> This is death!fic with no happy ending, six beloved characters die here, and there's no fixing it, I'm serious, don't read if you don't like this.

The journey back to Skyhold was the worse in Bull’s life. If he had any doubts before about the type of man the Inquisitor was, they all died now, along with his men. The Inquisitor was admirable in many ways and Bull would never hesitate in following him in battle, but he was also a practical man, and had grown too calloused from war even before the Inquisition began. Bull was a “no man left behind” kind of leader, while Trevelyan adopted an “acceptable losses” policy, and the deaths of a few mercenaries seemed like a reasonable price to pay for an alliance with such a powerful force.

Bull struggled with his loyalty to the Qun and the Inquisition, but before they reached Skyhold, he had decided that if his men died for this cause, he could never turn his back to it. He hadn’t even looked at the bodies yet, the Inquisition troops by the camp loaded them to a wagon and he would deal with the funerary arrangements in Skyhold. He felt like a coward, but he needed time to fully become Hissrad again.

As they reached the courtyard, a voice made him turn. “Hey, chief, where’s the crew?” Dalish asked with a smile, while looking around.

Bull lost all color and felt his heart sink. What the hell was Dalish doing there? Why wasn’t she with the others? He was glad to see her alive, but wasn’t ready to tell her what happened.

“Chief? Is everything ok? And why Dorian didn’t come back with you?” she asked, noticing that something was wrong.

“I didn’t call Dorian to go out with us, if he’s not here he definitively didn’t leave with my permission,” replied the Inquisitor, while Bull was still trying to process what she had said.

Dalish gave a half-smile, the former templar made her nervous, and she didn’t like to talk to him if she could avoid. “I was sick with the flu, so he offered to take my place with the Chargers for this mission. I assumed he or Krem would let you know. Did… did something happen?”

Bull didn’t answer, instead, he rushed to the wagon. The bodies were pilled due to the lack of space, and he immediately recognized Krem, Rocky, and Skinner as the bodies on top. They were all badly mutilated, with deep cuts and burns. He doesn’t have time to deal with what that sight makes him feel, because he notices Dorian’s hand, or what he assumes is Dorian’s hand, burnt to a crisp, but with his rings. He gently moves Krem to the side, and takes Dorian in his arms.

He can see why the Inquisition troops didn’t notice it was him, Dorian was unrecognizable after what he assumed were several fire blasts, including one that destroyed his face. For a second, it crosses his mind that maybe this isn’t Dorian, but then he sees the dragon tooth necklace. Bull drops to the ground, holding Dorian tight against his chest. He had days to accept the loss of his men, but Dorian’s death came as a shock and released all the emotions he worked so hard to suppress.

Dalish gasped and said something, but he wasn’t paying attention. She came to the wagon and looked at the bodies, and screamed to try to get his attention, probably demanding answers, but he couldn’t give her the comfort she wanted.

“They were casualties. The price to forge an alliance with the Qunari. You will be pleased to know that they fought hard to the end against all odds and served their part well. I would have liked to know that Dorian was with them before making the call of sacrificing them, although really, it wouldn’t have mattered in the end. This alliance will be more useful than Dorian has ever been, although this does leaves us short one mage. I trust you can fill in for his duties, since his death is your fault,” the Inquisitor said to Dalish, and that Bull heard.

He rose with Dorian still cradled in an arm, and punched Trevelyan. He never hated someone as much as he had just now, his blood was boiling and if that man wasn’t Thedas’ only hope, he would rip him apart with his teeth.

Trevelyan rose with a smug, and spat out a tooth before cleaning the blood from his mouth. Bull was a very large man and could do a lot of damage with just his hands. “Now, _Hissrad_ ,” he started, making a point of using Bull’s rank. “I understand that this must be a very stressful time for you and that you and Dorian were… let’s say, intimate. So I won’t punish you like I should.” Without warning, he swung his sword, hitting Bull’s bad knee with the flat of it, and making him fall on his other knee, still holding Dorian. “However, this is the only pass you’ll get. As I’m sure you know, one can’t run an army by allowing insubordination to go unpunished.”

Bull analyzed his options for a moment. If he let go of Dorian, he could probably cut the Inquisitor in half before any soldiers came to stop him. He would be killed, of course, and the world would be destroyed, and maybe Dalish would die trying to protect him, unless he hit her hard enough to leave her unconscious for the fight. But he didn’t want to let go of Dorian.

As if reading his mind, Dalish placed a hand on his shoulder. “No, chief. It isn’t worth it.” The rest was left unsaid, _it isn’t what they would have wanted, it isn’t what Dorian would have wanted_.

“If you are all done with the emotional demonstration, you should take care of your men. But don’t do anything with Dorian’s body. I’ll order Josephine to notify his father, maybe she can find a way to turn this to our advantage,” the Inquisitor turned and left, with not a second care to Bull.

Dalish’s hand on his shoulder held tighter, as if by will alone she could keep him there. He wouldn’t obey, of course. At least not the last part. He once promised he would help keep Dorian’s father away from him, this wouldn’t change now.


End file.
